Paul Armentano: Let us stop criminalizing marijuana users

January 18, 2013|By Paul Armentano

Kudos to Kingsley Guy for acknowledging that it is "time to re-think" America's war on drugs (Jan.13), and for recognizing that a majority of the public now favors regulating marijuana consumption by adults.

The modern drug war is fueled by the criminalization of marijuana. Police made 757,969 arrests in 2011 for marijuana-related offenses, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's annual Uniform Crime Report.

Nearly nine out of 10 of those arrested were charged with violating marijuana possession laws — not for growing, trafficking, or selling cannabis. According to the report, marijuana arrests now comprise one-half of all illicit drug arrests in the United States.

Despite law enforcement's growing fixation with arresting cannabis consumers, a record percentage of Americans are saying, "No more."

Voters in two states — Colorado and Washington — turned their backs on cannabis prohibition at the ballot box. National polls by Angus Reid, Quinnipiac University, and Public Policy Polling indicate that a solid majority of voters across the country also support ending the nation's nearly century-long experiment with pot prohibition and replacing it with regulation.

It's time to stop stigmatizing and criminalizing tens of millions of Americans for choosing to consume a substance that is safer than either tobacco or alcohol.

Paul Armentano is the deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and is the co-author of the book Marijuana is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink? The book has appeared on Amazon.com's best-sellers list.